Clothes-line stretcher.



J. R. ANDERSON.

CLOTHES LINE STRETCHER.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 29. 1915.

Patented Aug. 27, 1918.

on sans rannr carton.

JOHN R. ANDERSON, OF MOLINE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF T0 JOHNMORD- I-IORST, OF ROCK ISLAND, ILLINOIS.

CLOTHES-LINE STBETOHER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 2'7, 1918.

Application filed October 29, 1915. Serial N 0. 58,559.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN R. ANDERSON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Moline, in the county of Rock Island and State of Illinois,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Clothes-LineStretchers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a clothes line stretcher and has for itsobject the provision of a simple and inexpensive device which may beapplied to the line at any convenient point and which is readilyoperable to remove the slack from the line.

Various objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent as it isbetter understood by reference to the following specification when readin connection with the accompanying drawing, illustrating a preferredembodiment thereof, in which Figure 1 is a plan View of the deviceaccording to my invention and Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof.

As is well known considerable difficulty is experienced by the averageperson in stretching clothes lines so that they will not sag, andparticularly where lines are fixed permanently in position, they vary inlength owing to atmospheric conditions, so that it is frequentlydesirable to remove the slack therefrom.

I have, therefore, devised the present structure which, referring to thedrawing, comprises end members 1 and 2 connected by the rods 3.Rotatably mounted in the yokes 4, formed preferably integral with theend member 2, are rollers 5 adapted to be engaged by the line 6 and toform guides therefor. A screw 7 is rotatably mounted in the end members1 and 2 and provided with an operating handle 8, a nut 9 beingpreferably disposed on the screw 7 adjacent the end member 1 to retainthe screw in operative position. Slidably mounted on the rods 7 is amember 9 having a hook portion 10 preferably formed integral therewiththe portion 10 being adapted to engage the line 6 between the rollers 5so that as the member 9 is moved longitudinally of the frame along therods 3 a loop 11, consisting of the slack portion of the line, will beformed. The member 9 threadedly engages the screw 7 and as the screw 7is rotated by the operatmg handle 8 the member 9 may obviously be movedin either direction along the rods 3.

The operation of my device should be apparent without furtherdescription of the structure thereof. When the line 6 has been placed inposition the member 9 is moved by means of the screw 7 to a positionadjacent the end member 2 and the line 6 is disposed over the rollers 5and around the hook portion 10 of the member 9. The handle 8 is thenoperated to move the member 9 toward the end member 1 so that the loop11 is formed as previously described.

In practice the device is constructed so that the member 9 has amovement of approximately six inches, whereby a slack portion amountingto twelve inches may be quickly and effectively taken up. Obviously,however, the exact dimensions of the device are immaterial since it maybe made larger or smaller as the conditions under which it is to be usedvary.

It will be readily appreciated that I have devised a simple andinexpensive structure which is admirably adapted to accomplish thedesired results with a minimum of effort, particularly since the devicemay be applied to the line at any point in the length thereof.

It will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form,construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention, or sacrificing any of its materialadvantages, the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferredembodiment thereof.

I claim:

In a clothes line stretcher, the combina tion of aframe comprising endmembers and a pair of separate rods disposed therebetween and securedthereto, a slidable member provided with openings embracing said rodsand having a medially disposed hook formed integrally therewith toengage the line midway between said rods, a screw journaled in said endn'lem'bers and threadedly engaging said slidable member nut 011 saidscrew bearing against one of said end members to retain said screw inoperative position, in operating handle connected to said screw wherebythe latter may be mtated to move said slidaoly mounted memberlongitudinally of "the frame, and guic'ling Tellers on one of said endmembers t0 support the line on both sides of said hook.

JOHN R. ANDERSON. Wfitnesses HARVEY E. BROWN, VERNON G. SWANSON.

(r2 eme may be obtained. for five eencs each, by afidl'essing thefiommissioner of Eekents.

'ii'ashington, 53..

